HOUSTON (AP) — Activists praised Houston area law enforcement for pursuing a tip that led to the arrest of an African-American man in the fatal drive-by shooting of a 7-year-old black girl, a turn in the case suggesting the attack was not a hate crime as asserted by the girl’s family and some in the community.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced Sunday that prosecutors had arrested and charged 20-year-old Eric Black Jr. with capital murder in the death of Jazmine Barnes on Dec. 30. Black told investigators he was the driver of the SUV from which a passenger fired into the vehicle and killed Jazmine. Gonzalez said they have identified a second suspect, who also is black, but declined to say if the person is in custody.

When Jazmine Barnes was killed I pledged to find who killed her. We did that. The men who were arrested shot her. That I know.

The tip that sent the case in a new direction came from social activist and writer Shaun King. Before that tip, police had issued a sketch of a white man based on a description of the shooter provided by Jazmine’s family, and had circulated surveillance video of a red pickup truck he was apparently driving.

The sheriff said there was, in fact, a red pickup truck driven by a white man seen at a stoplight just before the shooting, but the driver did not appear to have been involved. Gonzalez said it was dark, the shooting happened quickly, and the red truck was probably the last thing seen by Jazmine’s family.

King acknowledged on social media his role in providing the tip. The New York-based civil rights activist and former senior justice writer at the New York Daily News highlights racial issues on social media and in his writing. King’s website says he currently uses his platform as a columnist for The Intercept and writer for the Harvard Law School’s Fair Punishment Project “to unearth the truth beyond local media.”

A $100,000 reward, raised in part by King, was offered for information in the Jazmine Barnes case.

Deric Muhammad, an organizer of a rally on Saturday in Houston to demand “Justice for Jazmine,” commended Gonzalez for working with the community to collect evidence leading to the arrest.

“We are still heartbroken at the thought of a 7-year-old innocent child losing her life in such a violent way,” Muhammad said in a statement. “We are no less heartbroken that those person(s) currently charged with this homicide are Black; not White.”

Gonzalez cautioned that authorities were still investigating, but said: “At this point, it does not appear it was related to race.”

Chris Sevilla, Jazmine’s father, said in a brief telephone interview that he was feeling “a bit of relief right now” after the arrest.

The shooting took place while Jazmine, her mother and three sisters were on their way to the grocery store.

Gonzalez said the shooting appears to have been a case of mistaken identity. The killers thought the vehicle was someone else’s they had seen earlier that night. Prosecutors did not say why the killers opened fire.

Court records did not list an attorney for Black, who was arrested Saturday afternoon during a traffic stop. Prosecutors said the 9 mm handgun they believe was used in the shooting had been recovered from Black’s home.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a black Democrat who represents parts of Houston, said the community came together to help solve the case.

“It’s wonderful to have a sheriff who’s willing to engage in a dialogue about violence, about hate, about guns and we have that along with the (police chief), the mayor of our city,” Lee said.

James Dixon, a prominent pastor in Houston, also thanked Gonzalez for working around the clock in the investigation.

“We are blessed in this city to have the kind of collegial relationships between pastors and law enforcement and elected officials where we all really work together, we cry together, we pray together, we serve together and sacrifice together. In moments like these, we come together in order to mend and heal broken hearts,” Dixon said.

Dear black people: This shooting is a classic Rorschach test. If you’re a racist you’re going to assume, without any facts, it’s a hate crime because of the shooter’s skin color. But, if a black boy commits the very same crime he doesn’t get the same assumptions, he’s treated differently. Stay sleep racists.

I,m not convinced,race soldiers has a history of cohercing black males to admit to something they didn’t do.Look at the central park five and all the inmates who are found innocent after serving long sentences.Since when gangbangers drive around to do a drive by at six in the morning.Shooting at a car full of females.Don’t fall for the okey dok.The white supremacist still use the same tactics.Black America you have no friends.

Nothing but crickets…Black lives only matter when the perpetrator isn’t black. Unfortunately, since no white man was involved and there won’t be any payday for Shaun, Sharpton, Jackson and the other race baiters and race haters; Jazmine will fade into the background as just another black person killed by a black person. You know the ones none of us demand justice for? Now, her means nothing…we are a sad set of folks.

I am just a white dude who thinks he was on to something big before these suspects were arrested. If this investigation is “still ongoing”, as Sheriff Gonzalez says it is, then why has the white suspect that all the eyewitnesses saw been cleared of any wrongdoing?

Why is Shaun King saying things don’t add up?
This is a bogus confession and they both know it. Remember when John Singleton put in his Jack the Ripper movie that it all came down to the Freemasonry? Ya. It’s like that.
12 hours after I began talking about the Barbour’s Cut Port Terminal 15 minutes from the murder scene, an arrest was made.

It provides the perfect get away, it is straight south and gets a killer out of the country with his truck hidden inside of a shipping container. The police been investigating this as a random road rage shooting, not a premeditated act of terrorism. The man shot last year, shot in same place. That place is the Beltway 8. Remember the Beltway Sniper case? If these 2 incidents were in fact related, then this killer may not just be a killer, but something else entirely.

That port is not only just an easy 15 minute drive straight south, but the murders happened “around 7AM”. Guess when the port gate opens? A: 7AM.

Pretend I am right. Then this means the white suspect is on a cargo ship right now with his truck inside of a shipping container with maybe a couple more days to reach Europe, which is where I would head being a white man wanting to blend with locals, rather than make a break for the border. No one has ever thought of using a port and that port is co-owned by 150+ private companies.

There is gate camera you can see on the Barbours Cut Terminal website. It refreshes every 10 seconds. For someone to enter the gate on a Sunday they MUST be registered with Lynx Trucker Registration. And they must be approved for a “Late Arrival”.

Ted, you didn’t need to wait for more evidence when the shooter was reported as a white man, you jumped in with both racist feet. But now that a brother a has admitted to driving the vehicle the weapon was fired from, you want to wait for confirmation? With zero facts in the case, statistically speaking, it would be over 90% chance that a black man committed the crimemin that neighborhood. Keep ignoring the problem, I’m sure it will solve itself

Dude, no one is listening to you. You have already lost all credibility.
You say everyone was so quick to accuse the white man…..
well you are awfully quick to declare him innocent based off the confession of 1 crip vs 4 “highly credible witnesses”. Where is this white dude at my brother? He still afraid for his life? So afraid he can’t give an anonymous tip even after he has been exonerated, already?

Shaun King and Rep Lee must be politically correct, I don’t. Hmmm…..I don’t believe what these blue racist say – they lie so much. If it’s true – what a tragic ending to a tragic story. Young girl….dead. Two young black men…. might as well be dead. xxxxxxxx Now; if they did it, I’m happy they were caught. Senseless murder. However, black people when you are suspected of something – Ask for an Attorney. At a traffic stop only show license and registration. No other questions, start recording ask for attorney if they ask you anything else. Then keep quiet. Don’t talk to these racists. Turn signal violation? Only results in arrest of black people. Too many of our people under intimidation confess to crimes they don’t commit. The Central Park 5. These same blue racist gunned down Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr.. # Fact. Never ever talk to blue racists without an attorney. They are not your friend. When your kids are stopped, tell them that they should say over and over, I want an attorney. Film themselves asking for an attorney. Don’t feel bad if you don’t believe these blue racists. I’ll wait for more evidence to prove they did do it. xxxxxxxx If you ever struggle just remember that the great Martin Luther King said, “I fear I am integrating my people into a burning house.” White people, coons and racists love to quote all the kumbaya, but don’t want to tell you about his soul searching fears. Don’t trust the people that want you to doubt your own instinct. Always trying to make black people passive. Nope. If #45 hasn’t shown you anything, he has shown you the sheer evilness of the colonizers. They lie and target black people in the open – dog and sobs. If these two are guilty, that doesn’t negate your real feelings. That racist choked that kid in McDonald’s, a white and Chinese roommate tried to kill/injure black students, a white racist shot at a kid simply for being lost on his way to school, Jordan Edwards murderer was a lying blue racist and on and on. What I do know is that Jazmine’s sweet precious soul is resting with the Father!

The young guy led police to the gun that shot that girl, I live in Houston and the story is unfolding, these young black men are ruining their lives trying to kill one another, and are always putting others in harms way, I am starting to get tired of us people not addressing some real issues like black on black crime by these young guys, they are so lost, killing each other for what, pretty much nothing to prove they are men. The sad part is when everyone found out they were black, they kind of went silent, whatever the color, they should get the maximum sentence possible, which in my opinion is death. They act like animals and I will not sit here and try to justify their actions, the second guy arrested had the rap sheet of a person twice his age. Just shameful!

STFU, nobody cares what you believe, the thug admitted to driving the vehicle that the shooter fired from. The guy was Facebook friends with LaPorsha. Here is what has yet to be released, LaPorsha, aka hood rat, took her kids on a drug run. Tried to skip out without paying, because everyone owes black women something free, and that’s where the shooting picked up. Ain’t no baby Mama taking her kids out grocery shopping at 6:30am. She needed a fix. Check her record. As I said before, and it WILL be proven, SIMP Ted, black women are the worst stewards of life in the focking universe, bar none. Even animals provide better for thei offspring

Ummmm, the guy Facebook friends with the mother is innocent.
NOT the same guy. Wrongly accused. Just like the other person Shaun King wrongly accused who is getting death threats now, against him and his entire family.

Ted, let’s not mix apples and oranges here. All last week, the search was for a white guy. Comments were horrible with posters thinking the guy was white. Now, we find out, it’s two young stupid black men. For whatever reason this Eric Black, Jr. was pulled over was a godsend! The police must have had something on this guy or the rental car. What are the chances the police just happen to pull over a black man, and that black man happens to confess to being involved with the murder of an innocent 7 year old? All I care about right now is that one or both of these dummies are off the street. I actually hope they both get the death penalty.
++++++
Yes, you give your condolences, etc, but you zone in on racism, getting an attorney, etc. We all get that, but right now, you’re speaking “oranges”. The community has to come together to put an end to this senseless killing of our black men, women and children. I never thought I would say this, but sometimes, we are our own worst enemy.

It’s called deflection, Ted doesn’t like how the story just turned, so he focuses on a trivial detail of the black man being stopped for a turn signal, when obviously the police had information on him to make the arrest. Ted only wants to be part of the solution if a white perpetrator is involved. He is a microcausm of what is wrong in our communities